Down Time

I took a few days off and made a trip down to Delaware with Avery and Simone for her family's reunion. It's the first time the three of us have taken off together and it was a blast. We stopped by our friends George and Audra's shop to pick up some of their awesome "Munchies" Oatmeal cookies. The cookies are all natural, vegan oatmeal cookies with chocolate chip and ginger flavors. Simone's mother ordered about 20 boxes of the cookies to give to family, and the three of us were scheming on how to hold back some to the cookies for ourselves. But good ethics and the samples Audra and George gave us kept us in line.

I had a great time in Delaware, which always the case around Simone's mom, you actually don't have much of a choice with her. I didn't take a lot of pictures, just wanted to relax. But below are some of my favorites of the ones I did take.

Simone, George, Audra, Avery and Me

My son is a sharp looking guy!

Thought I saw it all

Simone and Tip

Tip after a long day.

That's Simone checking her email and Tip dreaming.

Shanequa and Arthur Cory Terry: Married!!

Shanequa and Cory have an energy about them that projects to all around them. Their wedding day was just what I expected and more. It was all about them and family, and that's a great thing. They reminded me once again why I love documenting the special day of couples.

Ryan Jensen attended as my guest shooter for the day, and it's always a blast having him around. When I met with Shanequa and Cory a week before their day, I asked them to help me play a joke on Ryan by calling him "Omar" A name he picked up from a previous couple of mine. That morning when I jokingly called Ryan "Omar" he laughed but said " don't do that" At that point I told myself to inform my bride and groom to forget the joke I wanted to play on him, but figured they'd forget about it anyway. Well as faith would have it, as I introduced Ryan to each of them that morning they both remembered and as I went from one room to the other they both proceeded to say "Hey Omar" before I could lift a finger to stop them. But it's cool,
Ryan being Ryan took it in stride. I'm sure he'll get me back one day. Since they both got prepared in the same hotel they asked to take some pictures together with out them seeing each other. Well, at least without Cory seeing his bride.

The Coral House is where the vows were exchanged and the celebration took place. And here during the ceremony Cory proved that true men, "real" men, do cry. The bond between them are off the scale.

Check out some of my favorite images (Ryan's included) below, and check back for a slide show. (I'm behind on those things)














Just for you Shallonda!

Nadia and Chauncey: Knot Tied

They made it happen. In full view of family and friends, Chauncey and Nadia exchanged their vows at The Cathedral of the Incarnation, in Garden City, New York. Ryan Jensen worked with me to document their day and got some awesome images. Westbury Manor hosted their reception, and was able to contain the celebration energy.

Nadia and Chauncey, Thank You for sharing your day with me. You guys are great!!!

Chauncey being welcomed to the family!!!

Check back for a slideshow!!

Shavonne and Carlos: E Session

While neither Carlos or Shavonne live in Brooklyn, they definitely have a connection to it. Around the corner from where I live is Brooklyn Tech HS, and Fort Greene Park where these two people met and hung out. Or day actually started when Carlos showed up early and we had to wait for Shavonne who was stuck in traffic. So headed back to my apartment, which at the time happened to be occupied by my neighbor and great friend Christalyn and some friends that came over to watch her work as an associate producer for an episode of MTV's "Made". As we headed to my apartment we ran into a film production set, and had to wait before crossing a street. And who did I see standing there in this fitting red dress looking very impressive? Brooke Shields, and I have to admit, she looked hot. But when I got back to the apartment and shared my sighting with Christalyn and her guest, only about half of them seemed impressed. And my son AJ had very vague idea who she was.

We had a great time in the park that day. And maybe on Shavonne and Carlos's wedding day, they will not only bless me with the honor documenting it, but invite Vanessa Williams and have her be my date. So what if I'm working.

Trina and Leo: E Session

Our day started in Fort Greene Park, and ended with a bottle of water, a margarita, and a mojito in DUMBO. (I'm pretty sure I had a mojito, or maybe it was a Corona) Well what matters is that we had fun. As we heading over to DUMBO I kept telling Trina and Leo about this really hot mural that I wanted to get them in front of. We walked up and down a few blocks, and as I finally eyed this big plain grey wall that i didn't remember, I asked someone about the mural. And he basically told me I was looking at it. It seems for reasons unknown someone decided to splash some paint on it, so they just painted the whole wall gray. But I'm sure another artist is already planning the next master piece. And when it's created, I'm going to get some lucky couple in front of it.
Until then, check out some images from Leo and Trina's E Session and check back soon to see how their wedding day kick off.